Human operators have been tending, loading and unloading manufacturing machines for many years. While human operators allow for flexibility in the manufacturing process, they also introduce errors due to the repetitive nature of automated mass assembly lines, they add to cost, and require frequent downtime. Modern day manufacturing practices dictate continual process improvement including: increased part quality, increased throughput, increased reliability, decreased part cost, reduced scrap, and continuous operation sometimes 24/7. One method for meeting these goals is the use robotics. Industrial robots are good at repetitive motions and are very good at material handling such as pick and place applications. Robots minimize the variables an operator introduces when handling parts such as, improper part placement into the manufacturing machine, dropped or damaged parts or even the inconsistency in loading or unloading a waiting manufacturing machine in a timely manner. Many times the use of robotics enables a human operator to control operation of multiple manufacturing machines as opposed to being tied to tending just one machine.
One critical aspect for the successful implementation of robotic manufacturing and material handling applications is that parts must be presented to the manufacturing robot in a consistent, reliable and repeatable method. The second aspect is that the human operator understands supports and is able to provide a continuous uninterrupted supply of parts to the manufacturing robot during the production process. Accordingly, there is a need in the industry for a method and apparatus for providing an intuitive consistent parts supply for robot assisted manufacturing.